Repent and Believe Part 1

Hello everybody, my name is Dean Davis and this is “A Word of Encouragement for Village Church Planters.”  

The first of the 7 basic commands of Jesus is to repent and believe the Good News.  

The Gospel of Mark starts out by telling us that “After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!”

As a follower of Jesus and as a Village Church Planter, you have the wonderful privilege and great responsibility to help people in villages today the way Jesus helped people in Galilea and Judea.  One way Jesus helped people was by telling them good news.  In fact his whole message was called “The Good News.”

So Jesus proclaimed the Good News of God.  And the first thing he said when he proclaimed that good news was “Repent!”  What a strange thing to say!  To repent means to change your way of thinking and change your behavior, to stop doing what is evil and start doing what is right. Telling other people to repent does not sound like good news!  Maybe if he had said “Peace be unto you,” or “Blessing is coming your way,” people would have recognized his message as good news.  But Jesus said, “Repent.” So, how is calling people to repent good news? 

It is good news because it means that because of God’s grace, people are free to change.  Its good news because God is present and He is willing and able to help people change.  To say “Repent,” is good news because it means that sinners do not have to keep sinning. Change is possible.  This is good news indeed.  Fighters can stop fighting.  Robbers can stop robbing.  Adulterers can break off adulterous relationships. Liars can stop lying and begin to tell the truth. Drunkards can stop destroying their bodies and their families with alcohol. Why? Because the Kingdom of God has come near.  The grace of God to transform human lives is available here and now.  We simply need to repent and believe the Good News. God will give us power to change.

So, as a Village Church Planter, you can invite people to repent and be free from the sinful ways of life which are destroying them.  What a privilege.  When you invite people to repent, be sure to do so with a heart full of love.  Do so with humility.  Let them know that you too have repented and continue to repent of sinful ways.  Tell them how God changes the life of those who repent and put their trust in Jesus. Do not be afraid to invite people to repent.  When you invite others to repent you are following Jesus’ example.  What a privilege is yours to do what Jesus did and say what Jesus said!

This has been a word of encouragement for Village Church Planters.  

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